Devices and methods herein generally relate to patterned items and patterning processes and more particularly to patterning that rotates a cylinder during photolithographic processing.
In common printers, a laser beam projects a latent image of the page to be printed onto an electrically charged rotating drum. Photoconductivity allows charge to leak away from the areas exposed to light. Powdered ink (toner) particles are then electrostatically picked up by the drum's charged areas, which have not been exposed to light. The drum then prints the image onto paper by direct contact and heat, which fuses the ink to the paper.
Magnetic rollers are used in printing devices to deliver toner to the development device (to the drum). In particular, a toner delivery device, commonly called semiconductive magnetic brush development (SCMB) uses a fixed magnet surrounded by a rotating sleeve to develop a latent image on a photoreceptor. A parameter of such a device is commonly called mass on roll (MOR), which refers to the amount of developer on the roller sleeve available for development. The mass on roll is adjusted by controlling the magnetic field produced by the fixed magnet, the developer bias, and the position of a trim bar. Often, sleeves are grit blasted to introduce a randomized defect pattern, or sleeves are machined to produce a grooved surface.
However, grit blasting and machining the sleeve is expensive. Sleeves can also be extruded; however, the extruding process limits the design freedom of the pattern on the surface to two dimensions and thereby forming the same uniform pattern down the entire length of the sleeve.